The present invention relates to a medical sharps containment and disposal system or device, and more particularly to a hand-held surgical blade removal and containment structure.
Presently, scalpel blades are usually attached to and removed from a handle by hand. This practice creates an obvious health and safety hazard for medical personnel. Devices are apparently known and described for removing scalpel blades from their associated handles, such as described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,746,016 to Pollak et al. and U.S. Pat. No. 4,903,390 to Vidal et al. However, for one reason or the other, these devices have proven to be cumbersome or relatively difficult to operate.
Thus, what is needed in the art is a relatively simple device which allows an operator to remove and lock a used scalpel blade within the device with minimum effort and with "no touch" handling. This device should also provide for accountability of the used blades, as well as other medical sharps. The present invention provides such a device.